Paper-feeding mechanism



June 24, 1930. I MORSE 7 1,766,137

PAPER FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 6, 1927 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwuvmtoz June 24, 1930. 1.. H. MORSE PAPER FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 6, 1927 8 SheetsSheet I gwwntoz I W 259 WW.

June 24, 1930. Mo asE 1,766,137

' PAPER FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 6, 1927 a Sheets-Sheet 3 June 24, 1930. L. H. MORSE 1,766,137

PAPER FEEDING MECHANISM 7 Filed Dec. 6, 1927 8 Sheets-Sheet .4

. 2, F AG- A" 2 92 4o Ill June 24, 1930. H. MORSE 1,766,137

PAPER FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 6, 1927' a Sheets-Sheet 5 Fl Gt 5 June 24, 1930. L. H. MORSE 1,766,137-

PAPER FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Deg. 6, 1927 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 I I gwnlfoio $4 Kn WW June 24, 1930. MORSE 1,766,137

PAPER FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 6, 192'? 8 Sheets-Sheet Ill F'lGn- Jun 24, 1930. L. H. MORSE 1,7 6,137

I ,PAPER FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 6, 1927 8 Sheets-Sheet 8' FTG.- IO

e d c b l M GB I 2 2o H8 W B- I/O' 45 l l 1 Q l 1-164 1 i i JA 1 J [X1 T Y C b T I '45 A o m 1 3G. 15

6 3 ,1 N: j c-Ala Patented June 24, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcr."

LAWRENCE H. MORSE, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN MULTI- GRAPH COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO PAPER-FEEDING MECHANISM Application filed December 6, 1927. Serial No. 288,034.

This invention relates to mechanism for feeding a continuous web of paperto a print.- ing machine wherein a constantly rotating printing drum is associated with an intermittent paper feed. Oneof the main objects of the invention is to enable accuracy in the .with such drum the multigraph employs a roller platen with a comparatively soft rubber surface. It accordingly results that when paper is fed'between the multigraph drum and platen, such members have a feeding action on the paper for a short distance before the printing form reaches the radial plane connecting the drum and platen axes, and for a short distance after the form has moved beyond that plane. Therefore, if the paper does not start its movement until the first line is in the common radial plane, or if it stop its movement the instant the printing form has cleared such plane, the result is more or less smudging of the first and last line printed. Accordingly, to obtain the best printing, it is desirable thatthe paper start moving in advance of the impression, and continue after the impression; on the other hand, in the interest of economy of paper, this extra feed should be reduced to a minimum. h

Now I have found that by providing means for starting the paper in, advance of the impression, continuing such feed after the impression, and then drawing the paper back to a definite stop, such action occurring after the printing form has well cleared the paper,

' I am enabled to produce unsmudged first and last lines with no excess of paper. I can thus present the printed matter so accurately to a suitable shearing mechanism, that it may be cut off very close to the first andlast lmes without danger of cutting into such lines.

My invention provides a mechanism foreffecting this pull-back on the paper, and this is one of the features claimed herein.

I find it desirable to have paper feed mechanism act simultaneously on a comparatively large area of the web, and to effect this I prefer to direct the web about a portion of the periphery of an intermittently rotated feed drum against which the web is pressed by suitable tapes tensioned about such portion of the drum. Copending application No. 238,100 filed December 6th, 1927, by William R- Allen and Peter M. Colquhoun, assigned to my assignee, The American Multigraph Company, shows and claims such paper feed per se. have adapted the same to embody my pull-back feature above explained. Also certain features herein shown, of guiding and tensioning the web in such a paper feed are of my invention and are claimed herein.

My invention is hereinafter more fully explained in connection with the drawings, which show apreferred embodiment of it.

In the drawings, Fig. 1' is aside elevation of a complete apparatus including my improved paper feed, a multigraph machine, and

shearing mechanism; Figs. 2 and 3 are vertithrough the axis of the feed drum, as indicated by the line 5-5 on Figs; 1 and 3; Fig. 6 is a section, principally vertical, through the multigraph machine, the plane being indicated by the line 6-6 on Figs. 1 and 3; Fig. 7 is an elevation on a reduced scale at the right hand end of the-apparatus; Fig. 8 is a detail of the mechanism fordisconnecting the gear between the multigraph and paper feed; Fig. 9 in a detail illustrating the releasable drive for the feed drum; Figs. 10 to 13 inclusive are diagrams illustrating the course of the paper as fed by the mechanism, respectively at the start of the forward feed of the paper, at the completion of the forward feed of the paper, at the conclusion of a retraction of the fed paper, and just after the shearing of the foremost section, respectively.

In Figs. 1, 253 and 6, I have illustrated a usual multigraph printing machine comprising the following members, namely; end

- Multigraph Company, or thesegment may A being shown.

be provided with rails carrying individual type, as is frequent in the multigraph. Suitable means are provided for inking the multigraph form, for instance, ribbon spools, as at 25 and 26, mounted in the segment drum and carrying a ribbon 27 overlying the form.

Mounted in the. frame members of the multigraph, parallel with the drum shaft, is a platen shaft 30. On this shaft is rotatably mounted a rubber faced platen roller 31 adapted to coact with the form. This platen roller is connected by a gear 33 to a gear 34 on the drum. 7 As an eccentric adjustment of the platen is embodied in the multigraph to vary the printing impression, or throw it oif altogether, the platen roller 31 rides on an. ec-

centric portion 36 of the shaft 30, and this shaft may be turned in its bearings by suitable means, not shown. On account of this adjustment the platen roller is connectedby a gear by a suitable shifting coupling 37.

In the present machine the multigraph just described is geared with a .paper feed drum to feed the paper periodically between the inultigraph drum and platen, and I also provide mechanismfor automatically shearing the printed strip at a time when it is stationary.

The frame of the paper feed mechanism shown comprises a pair of upright plates 40 and 41 secured to a suitable base 42. J our- 1 nalled in these upright plates is a shaft 44. F rigidly mounted .on this shaft is a drum 45 having a smooth cylindrical periphery, coacting with this drum for about half its circumference and several endless belts 50, three These belts loop over a roller 51 above the drum 45 and a roller 52 below it, each of these rollers being beyond the central vertical plane of thedrum. The outer reaches of the beltsalso pass over a guide roller 53, journalled' in the frame plates and over a-tension roller 54 carried by-a pair 'of levers 55 pivoted to the respective frame plates. Tension springs 56 acting on these levers tend to swing the roller 54 awa from the drum 45, and thus tension the elts, maintaining the inner reach tight against the drum for about half its periphery.

' The belts are driven in correspondence with the peripheral movement of the drum by a gear 57 on the drum operating idlers'58 to a gear 59 on the roller 52.

gage such edge.

- wearer The web of paper is 'fed into the grip of the belts and the drum 45-beneath the roller 51 and thence passes around the front half of the drum 45, and then over the roller 52 to the multigraph. Such web of paper is shown at A in'Figs. 1 and 3.

The paper is supplied to the machine in the formof a roll A Fig. 1, and this roll is suitably mounted, as for instance, by having an axial rod 60 resting in recesses in brackets 61 suitably carried. A brake is provided in the .form of a comparatively heavy plate 63, ad

justably' carriedon rods 64 pivotally sup ported at oneend, the weight resting by gravity against the surface of the roll. From the roll the webpasses downwardly and then upwardly about a floating roller 66.

74, Fig. 1, may clamp the rod in the desired position in the slot. Accordingly, this rod may stand in an angular position with reference to the web of paper, and thus serve to direct it laterally toyvard either side of the machine as desired, and thus properly .cen-

tralize it on the feed drum. This avoids the necessity of accuracy in placing the supply roll A From the guide rod 70 the paper web passes upwardly over a guide roller 76,.and thence between a pair ofedge guides 80 and 81. These edge guides are best shown in Figs. 3, 4'and 5. They comprise blocks slidably mounted on a square rod 83 carried by the frame plates 40 and 41, each block having a lip 84 adapted to support the paper adjacent the edge, and an upright wall 85 to en- The blocks are clamped in adjusted positions by set screws 87;

From the guides 80 and 81, the paper web A passes around the guide roller 89, and thence toward the front beneath the belt roller 51, and between the belts and the drum 45, leaving the underside of the drum. The web A passes from the drum on topof the belts until it leaves the feed mechanism per se, and enters the multigraph machine passing between the multigraph drum and its platen, where it is printed as desired.

The multigraph drum in this apparatus is continuously rotated, but the printing form occupies only a fraction 0 the total pe-' riphery of the drum, and accordingly as the paper passes directly from the paper ,feed

drum to the multigraph, the paper feed drum tently; To effect this, I may use a ratchet mechanism, best illustrated in Figs. 2, 4,

- graph gear 34 mentioned. The loose gear 91 has pivoted to it a pawl 93 (Figs. 2 and 9) which is adapted to coact with a ratchet wheel 95 which is rigidly connected with the feed drum 45. I have shown the ratchet wheel rigidly mounted on a sleeve hub 96 which extends through the frame plate 40 and is pinned at 97 to the shaft 44,-the drum 45 being also pinned to this shaft. It results that the rotation of the multigraph drum may de-' liver a corresponding rotation to the drum 45 (the gears 34 and 91 being of the same diameter) so long as the pawl 93 engagesthe ratchet .95. v

The period of engagement of the'pawl 93 with the ratchet 95 is determined by a compound cam 100, 101 on which rides a roller 97 carried by the pawl, this roller being pressed against the periphery of the cam by a spring 98 secured to the gear at 99. The cam is of an adjustable extent and preferably comprises two rings side by side. As illustrated in Fig. 5, one of these rings, designated 100, may be secured as shown to the frame member 40, and the other ring 102 may be loose upon a clamping ring 105, which may be supported by screws 106 mounted in the frame plate. These screws will thus serve to draw the plate 101 tightly against the plate 100, so that they act as a unitary stationary cam, but by loosening these screws the ring 101 may be shifted circumferentially, and thus vary the arcuate length of the cam region. Both the rings have a concentric periphery for a considerable portion of their extent.

The cam region is adjusted in extent with reference to the arcuate length of the form 20 on the multigraph drum. The concentric portion of the compound cam maintains the driving pawl 93 idle, but the cam region allows that pawl to come into engagement with ratchet teeth, under the influence of the spring 98, for adistance somewhat greater than the length of the form 20, so that paper is fed for a distance greater than the form. The length of the non-concentric region of the cam determines the duration of the feed of the paper. I

As heretofore descrlbed, I deslre to overfeed the paper beyond the length required for printing, and then retract it to a definite stop. I effect this by the following mecha- 111, the end portions'of which have blocks 112 and 113 mounted on them. A rod 114 pivoted to one of these blocks extends loose.-

ly through the other and beyond that block is surrounded by 'a compression'spring 115 adjustably compressed by nuts 116.

About the mid region of the brake band 111 there is secured to it a tongue 117 which projects between a pair of stop pins 118' and 119 on the frame plate 40. A tension spring 120 is connected to the tongue 117 and tends to pull it against the-pin 118. The spring 115 is so adjusted that the friction on the brake drum will lock the brake to the drum against displacement when there is no power on the drum, but the friction is not suflicient to interfere with the normal power driving the drum independently. Accordingly, "power on the drum will rotate it and carry the brake with the drum as far as possible.

It will be-cseen from the above description that when the machine is standing idle the brake drum is in the position shown in Fig.

1, with the tongue 117 against the pin 118. Now, when power is applied, tending to r0- tate the drum counter-clock-wise in Fig. 1,

the brake band travels with it until the tongue 117 engages the pin 119. Then the brake hand can go no further, and the brake drum 110 rotates within the brake band. a

Rigidly mounted on the shaft 44 is a ratchet wheel 129, which is similar to the ratchet wheel 95. A suitable detent pawl 130 en gages the ratchet wheel 129, and when ac tive prevents backward movement thereof.

This pawl is mounted on arock shaft 131, journalled in the frame plates 40 and 41. On this rock shaft is an arm 133, Fig. 1, carrying a roller 134. When the brake is in the position shown in Fig. 1 this roller 134 rests on the surface of the brake band and enables the pawl 130 to engage the teeth of the ratchet 129, as shown injFig. 2. When, however, the

the traveling pawl 93 is engaging the ratchet tooth) the brake is thereby rotated and brings set according to the form on the multigraph drum, and the multigraph drum is rotated,

power is applied to the shaft 44 (that is, when 1 the driving pawl 93 engages the ratchet and turns it for a distance corresponding to the non-concentric cam region and when doing.

so lifts the detent pawl 130 to idle positionQ This is the action-while paper is fed with the multigraph. Now the cam 100, 101 is so set that it maintains the feed until after the form has well cleared the paper, and then the cam roller 97 comes onto a concentric portion of the compound cam, and is thus withdrawn to idle position when the feed stops. v

As the power is taken'oif of the ratchet by the withdrawal of the pawl 93,the sprlngacting on the brake turns the drum 1n the reverse direction. This draws the paper back I I through the passof the'multigraph drum and its platen (which is now open by reason of the printing form having moved past the multigraph drum are accompanied by a periwith the gear 34 of the multigraph drum."

odic feed, at the same speed, of the web of paper for a distance in excess of the arcuate extent of the form, and then, shortly after that form clears the paper, the paper is drawn. back for the amount of that excess. As hereinafter more fully explained, I have found'that this overfeeding, together with the drawing-back accomplishes a more accurate feed of the paper with less liability to smudge it, than if the feed were always in the forward direction.

The multigraph is frequently mounted on the top of a plate carryingpowertransmitting-gearing, which plate is mounted on top of a' suitable stand. The paper feed mecha nism may readily have its frame and other parts connected to such multigraph support. Thus, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the multigraph frame rests on a plate 140 which rests on top of a usual tubular stand 141 The base plate 42 of the paper feed may be provided with a horizontal flange 142 (Fig. 3) and a vertical flange 143 engaging the top and vertical wall of the multigraph trans-' mission frame 140. Suitable screwsas 145 may look the paper feed frame to the multigraph transmission plate. At its oppos te edge the paper feed frame may be readily supported by upright standards 147. The rod 64 carrying the braking weight 63 may readily be a rock arm on a shaft 65 journalled in brackets 148 clamped to standards of the multigraph frame 141. The paper roll supports 61 may be clamped to the standards 147 of the paper feed. One of the springs 69 is shown' as anchored to an arm 149 secured to one of those standards. The above described construction is simple and inexpensive and has the advantage of intimately connecting the paper feed frame with the multigraph support and at the same time does not interfere with the multigraph being lifted oif of its support, whenever desired,"'without disturbing the paper feed.

I have shown the multigraph as driven by gearing carried bythe plate 140 which rests v on the multigraph stand. As shown in Fig. 6, this plate has suitable-bearings in which is journalled a shaft 150 carrying a driving pulley 151. A belt 152 is shown as running onto this pulley from a'suitable motor .153. At the end of the shaft 150 is a gear 155 -(Figs. 2 and 6) which may mesh with the gear 33 of the platen, which in turn meshes As this gear 34 is connected through the idler 92 with the paper feed, it will be seen that the motor 153 supplies the power for both the multigraph and the paper feed. .This same power operates the shearing knife, about to be described.

The knife which shears ofi the successive printed sections is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive. It comprises a blade 160 pivoted on a stud 161 secured to a block 163 which carries a stationary bar 164 with which the blade coacts. -The block 163 carrying the knife may readily be mounted on a frame plate 162 secured to the multigraph base 12.

The blade 160 is shown in Fig. 7 in its normally elevated position. It is given a tendency to swing down to coact with the bar 164 by a spring 165, coiled about the stud 161 and secured at one end to a head 166 on that stud and at the other end overlapping the top of the blade. The blade is normally held elevated by a cam controlled linkage mechanism, but whenever this linkage mechanism allows it, the spring swings the blade downwardly to cut off the interposed strip of paper.

The linkage mechanism referred to is as followsrA link 170 (Figs. 1 and 7) connects the overhanging end 167 of the blade lever to a bell crank 171 pivoted to a depended portion of the block 163. The other arm of this bell is connected to an adjustable clamp 175 locked by a screw in desired position to a rod 176. This rod is rigidly connected to a yoke 177 slidably mounted on the power transmission base 140 of the multigraph machine. On such transmission mechanism, I provide a pinion 180 on the shaft 150 on the outer side of the gear 155. This pinion meshes with a gear 181 on a shaft 182 (Fig. 6) journalled in a downward flange 183 of the frame plate. On the outer end of this shaft 182 is a cam 186 which coacts with a roller 187 on the sliding yoke 17 7 The relative sizes of the pinion 180 and the gear 181 are such that the gear 181 makes one rotation for each rotation of the multigraph drum.

The cam 186, bearing against the roller 187, normally holds the yoke in its left-hand position (Fig. 1) and this maintains the knife elevated, shown in Fig. 7. However, at the proper'time (which is after the paper feed drum has drawn back the over-fed web to a definite stop provided by the detent pawl 130), the reentrant angle of the cam comes opposite the roller 187 and the yoke is allowed to move toward the right and thus the knife is swung down under the power of the spring 165, thus cutting off the extreme portion of the printed .web. This action takes place once for each rotation of the multigraph drum.

printing drum and the knife. To that end, I provide rollers 190 and 191 (Fig. 3) carried in suitable standards 192. The roller 190 preferably carries the gear 195 (Fig. 2) which meshes with the gear 196 loose on the roller 191. This latter gear is connected by an idler 197 with the gear 34 on the multigraph drum.

The forwardly rotating roller 190 maintains some tension on the paper, but the paper may be readily pulled backwardly over it while the roller 191 partakes of the movement of the paper, being driven frictionally thereby.

To enable the paper feed mechanism to be disconnected from the multigraph in a very simple manner, I make the idler 92, normally connecting them, shiftable on its supporting rod 200. I may effect this by a push button 201 (Fig. 8) on the end of a rod 202carrying a shipperfork 203, occupying a groove in the idler 92. The spring 205 normally maintains the idler in an engaged position but allows it to be moved inwardly out of engagement whenever desired.

It will be understood from the description above given ofthe embodiment shown in the drawings, that I have provided a compara tively simple adjunct for the multigraph which will result in feeding a continuous web of paper to it, accurately, in amounts corresponding tothe extent of the form of the multigraph drum. The printed web may be disposed of by winding it up or fan-folding it if desired, but I have shown a knife to shear off the sections of the web corresponding to the amount printed. While my arrangement of over-feeding the web and then drawing it back, to a definite stop related to the position of the segment on the printing drum, has its greatest advantage where the web is sheared in sections, it is still advantageous, irrespective of the disposition made of the printed web. This matter of over-feeding and then drawing back the web to a stop related to the position of the segment'is so important that I have illustrated the various phases thereof by diagrams in Figs. 10 to 13, to which Iwill now refer.

Each of the diagrams is in the nature of a.

side' elevation of the combined machine and illustrates the paper feed drum 45, brake band 110 with its tongue 117, the stops 118' and 119, limiting the position of the brake band, the printing drum 17, its segment 20, ejector rolls 190 and 191, and the shearing blades 160 and 164.

Suppose't-he segment 20 has such arcuate extent that four imprints of the segment with the desired margin above and below will reach from the shearing plane of the blades 160 and 164 to a point slightly to the left of the radial plane connecting the axis of the multigraph drum and platen, the distance of the overreach being designated as Y. Such four imprints are illustrated in Fig. 10, designated a, b, c, and d. The first rotation of the multigraph drum is supposed to have printed the imprint a, and thesecond rotation the implaten, the cam and ratchet arrangement throws the power onto the drum 45 which rotates in the direction of the arrow B, When the segment 20 in its continued rotation reaches the radial plane connecting the axes of the multigraph drum and the platen, the paper is moving with it, having beenfed by the paper feed for the distance Y, so that there is no tendency of the first line to smudge. The

fifth imprint is made with its advance edge at the rear edge of the fourth imprint, and immediately following that imprint the paper continues to advance a further distance, designated X.

It will be seen that the paper is fed by 7 paper feed drum, the multigraph and the ejector rolls not only the distance corresponding to an imprint, but a distance equal to the sum of the distances Y and X in addition.

This carries the fifth imprint e beyond the segment for the distance X, as shown in Fig. 11, so that there. can be no smudging of the last line, and also carries the section a to be cut oflfor the distance equalto the sum of the distances X and Y beyond the stationary blade 164. Now, the power is released from the drum 45, and the spring acting on the brake gives the drum a reverse rotation in the direction indicated by the arrow R so that the paper feed comes into the position shown in Fig. 12, the printing drum in the meantime continuing its rotation. This carries the excess portion X and the portion Y of the fifth imprint e to the other side of the vertical plane through the printing couple axes and brings the junction of the imprints a and 6 directly at the edge of the blade 164. Thereafter, while the printing drum is continuing its movement, but while the feed drum is stationary, the knife 160 is lowered, shearing off the section a, which mayfall on top of the precedingly sheared sections a as shown in Fig. 13. p

If the amount of over-feed varies somewhat according to the speed of rotation of the machine, this is entirely immaterial as the until the detent pawl is impinged by a ratchet tooth. If higher speed results in incre s ng the over feed of the web the ratchet wheel will be turned correspondingly further and there will be a greater reverse rotation in bringing a tooth of that wheel back against the detent pawl. The teeth of the ratchet wheel are of great enough extent so that there-will be one certain tooth appropriate to engage the detent pawl when the forward feed stops.

One of the great advantages of my system of overfeeding and retracting the web lies in the fact that the web is simply rolled through the pass of the printing couple at the peripheral speed of the segment for a short time before the segment contacts with the paper and until that segment has well cleared the paper, so that even though the platen is soft there is still no chance of either the foremost or the trailing edge of the segment smudging the paper. This advantage is independent of whether the printed web is rolled up 0 fanfolded, or cut off.

. As heretofore stated, my system of overfeeding and retracting the web has additional advantages where the web is cut off periodically, because it not only enables the cut-off portions to be accurately of the same size, as illustrated in Fig. 13, but it also properly positions the imprints on the regions to be cut off, so that there is no danger of an 7 unduly narrow margin at one edge and a cor.-

responding wide margin at the other. By reason of this accuracy of size of the pieces cut off, and the accuracy of the position of the printing on such pieces, both top and bottom margins may be very narrow, so thatthe printing may start close to the top of the sheared strip and end close to the bottom thereof, with a consequent saving in paer. Experience with the machine has demonstrated that it can produce a succession of printed and sheared pieces of almost exactly the same dimensions.

1 claim:

1. The combination with a continuously moving rotary printing couple, of a paper feed mechanism alternately stationary and moving, means whereby said paper feed mechanism automatically over-feeds a web of paper for each cycle of the rotary couple, means for automatically retracting said over-fed web during said cycle,'and means acting on the retracting means to stop it in a definite position.

2. The combination with a continuously moving rotary printing couple, of a periodically acting paper feed mechanism, means whereby said paper feed mechanism starts to feed the paper before the printing couple begins to impress it, means for reversing the feed mechanism to retract the paper following the impression, and mechanism for positively stopping the movement of the reversing means.

3. The combination of a.\ rotary-printing drum, a segmental form thereon, a platen, a paper feed drum, mechanism for giving the latter a partial rotation during a complete rotation of the printing drum and at the same means acting on the same rotation of the printing drum to retract the fed Web.

I 4. The combination ofa rotary printing drum carrying a segmental form, a platen therefor, means for continuously rotating said drum, a paper feed mechanism adapted to begin the feed of such'paper a short distance before the segmental form coacts with the platen, said paper feed continuing for a short distance after the segmental form has cleared the platen, automatic mechanism acting thereafter on the same rotation of the printing drum for reversing its movement to retract the fed paper, and stopping means acting on the automatic mechanism.

5. The combination of a rotary printing drum carrying a segmental form, a rotary platen therefor, means for continuously rotating said drum, means for carrying a roll of paper, a paper feed mechanism adapted to feed a web of such paper while the segmental form is coacting with the platen,'said paper feed continuing after the segmental form has cleared the platen for a short distance, and automatic mechanism acting thereafter on the same rotation of the printing drum for reversing' the movement of the paper feed mechanism to retract the fed web to. a definite position.

6. The combination of a rotary printing drum carrying a segmental form, a platen therefor, means for continuously rotating said drum, a paper feed mechanism adapted to feed a Web of paper While the segmentis coacting with the platen, said paper feed overfeeding the Web, automatic mechanism acting thereafter on the same rotation of the printing drum for retracting the fed Web, a knife, and a cam geared with the printing drum for operating said knife to cutoff a section of the printed web following its retraction.

7. The combination of a rotary printing drum carrying a segmental form, a roller platen therefor, means for continuously rotating said drum, a paper feed mechanism so connected with the drum and platen that it begins to feed a web of paper before'the segment is coacting with the platen, and

continues such feed until after the segment said knife to cut off a section of the printed web following its retraction.

8. The combination with a rotary printing couple, of a paper feed mechanism adapted to feed a web to the couple at the same peripheral speed as the couple is travelling, mechanism for periodicallymoving the paper feed drum, a shiftable brake for said paper feed drum not interfering with its rotation by power, and means for retracting the brake'and thereby giving a partial reverse rotation to the drum when the power is cut off. v

9. The combination with a printing couple of a paper feed drum adapted to feed a web of paper thereto, mechanism for periodically giving the paper feed drum a partial rotation, a constantly acting brake for said paper feed drum not interfering with its rotation by power, said brake being shiftable a predetermined distance with the drum, and means for retracting the brake and thereby giving a reverse rotation to the drum when the power is cut oif.

10. The combination with a rotary printing couple, of mechanism for feeding paper thereto including a paper feed drum, a brake wheel rigid therewith, a brake band about said wheel, mechanism for driving the drum and thereby shifting the brake band a short distance, the wheel thereafter slipping within the band, and means for retracting the brake band and thereby giving the drum a partial reverse rotation when the power drive has ceased.

11. The combination of a rotary printing couple, one member of which carries a seg mental form, a rotary paper feed drum, mechanism geared with the printing couple for giving the paper feed drum a partial forward rotation foreach complete cycle the printing couple to feed the web of paper a distance greater than the arcuate length of the segmental form, a friction brake on said paper feed drum bodily movable with the drum a short distance, and a spring for retracting the brake when the power is relieved on the drum to retract the paper through the printing couple.-

12. The combination of a rotary printing drum carrying a segmental printing form, a rotary platen geared therewith, means for continuously rotating such members, a paper feed drum, a driver for said drum geared with the printingO connection feed drum to give the paper feed drum a partial rotation at the same peripheral speed. as the printing drum, a brake wheel movable with the paper feed drum, a brake band on said brake wheel frictionally engaging it and adapted to be moved by it a short distance, a stop for such movement, and a spring for returning the band and thereby giving .the paper feed drum a partial rotationin a redrum and platen, a releasable etween said driver and paper.

thereto including a paper feed drum, a driver for said drum, a releasable connection between said driver and paper feed drum to give the paper feed drum a partial rotation, a constantly acting brake movable with the paper feed drum for a short distance,'a spring for returning the brake and thereby giving the paper feed drum a partial rotation in a reverse direction following the disconnection of the driver to the drum, a knife for cutting the printed web, and a cam for controlling said knife and timed to act after the spring has'returnedthe brake;

14. The combination with a rotary printing couple,of mechanism for feeding paper thereto including a paper feed drum, a driv- .ing gear therefor rotatable independently thereof, a-ratchet wheel on the paper feed drum, a pawl'on' the driving. gear, means adapted to cause the movement of the pawl into and out of coaction with the ratchet wheel on each rotation ofthe drivingigear, a detent pawl preventing reverse movement of the ratchet wheel, means formoving said. a

detent pawl to idle position when the engagement of the pawl with the ratchet wheel rotates the paper feed drum, and means adapted to rotate the drum in the reverse direction when the pawl is out of engagement with the ratchet, said last mentioned means serving also tointerpose the detent pawl into the path,

of the ratchet as the paper feed drum is reversely rotating. g p r 15. The combination of a rotary prmtmg drum adapted to carry a segm Printing 5 form, a rotary underrunning'platen, geared thereto, a paper feed drum of the'same diameter as the printing drum and mounted on a parallel axis, a driving gear concentric with the paper feed drum located at one end thereno of and connected by an idler with a gear on v the printing drum, a ratchet wheel on the paper feed drum, a pawl on the driving gear, an adjustable cam adapted to cause the movement of the pawl into and out of coaction with the ratchet on each rotation of the driving gear, a brake drum rigid with the paper feed drum, a brake band acting frictionally on the brake drum and movable'with it between limits, a detent pawl preventing reg verse movement of the ratchet wheel, a cam on the brake drum adaptedto move the detent pawl to idle position when power applied to the ratchet rotates the paper feed drum, a

spring acting on a brake ban and adapted to 16, The combination of a rotary printing drum adapted to carry a segmental printing form, a rotary platen geared thereto, a paper feed drum mounted on a parallel axis, a drive ing gear for the paper feed drum geared with the printing drum and platen, a ratchet wheel on the paper feed drum, a pawl on the driving gear, an adjustable cam adapted to cause the movement of the pawl into and out of coaction with the ratchet on each rotation of the driving gear, a brake acting frictionally on the feed drum and movable with it. between limits, a spring acting on the brake and adapted to return it when the cam'moves the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet, .a knife adapted to act on a printed web, a cam for controlling said knife and gearing between said cam and the printing drum and platen for giving the cam one rotation for each rotation of the printing drum.

17. The combination of a rotary printing drum adapted to carry a segmental printing form, a rotary platen geared thereto, a paper feed drum,- a rotary member for driving the paper feed drum geared with the printing drum and platen, a releasable connection between said member and the paper feed drum, means adapted to cause such release, a shiftable brake adapted to act on the paper feed drum and movable with it between limits, 2.

spring acting on a brake and adapted to return it when said connection is released, a set of endless belts embracing the paper feed drum, and means for guiding a continuous web of paper between the belts and paper a shiftable brake adapted to act on the paper feed drum and movable with it between limits, a spring acting on a brake band and adapted to return it when the cam moves the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet, a set of endless belts embracing the paper feed drum, and means for guiding a continuous web of paper between the belts and paper feed drum and thence between the printing drum and platen.

19. The combination of a rotary printing drum adapted to carry a segmental printing form, a rotary platen geared thereto, a paper feeddrum mounted on aparallel axis, a driving gear concentric with the paper feed drum located at one end'thereof and connected by gearing with the printing drum, a ratchet wheel on the paper feed drum, a pawl on the driving gear, adjustable means adapted to cause the movement of the pawl into and out of coaction with the ratchet on each rotation of the driving gear, a brake drum rigid with the paper feed drum, a brake band acting frictio'nally and constantly on the brake drum and movable with it between limits, a detent pawl preventing reverse movement of the the belts and paper feed drum and thencebetween the printing drum and platen, and a periodically acting knife adapted tocut 05 the printed web after it has been retracted by the paper feed mechanism.

20. In a paper feed mechanism, the combination with a printingcouple of means for holding a roll of paper, a paper feed drum, means for giving it perlodic fractional rotations, a set of endless tapes having one reach embracing the drum, means for gulding a web of paper from .a roll thereof into position between the drum and tapes, said guiding means including abar adjustable into various angular positions to divert the web lengthwise of the drum, said drum being so positioned that the paper passes from it to the printing couple. a

21. The combination with a rotary printing couple, of mechanism for feeding. paper thereto including a paper feed drum, means for giving it periodic fractional rotations, a set of endless tapes embracingthe drum, means for supporting a roll of paper, means for guiding a web thereof from the roll into position between the drum and tapes, said guiding means including a floating take-up roll, and means for giving said take-up roll a tendency to tension the paper.

22. In a paper feed mechanism, the combination with a rotary printing couple of paper feeding mechanism therefor including a drum, a set of endless tapes embracing the drum, means for supporting a web of paper, a pair of guiding rollers over which said paper may pass into the bite of the drum and tapes,

a bar mounted between the guide rollers and parallel therewith, and a pair of edge guides slidably mounted on said bar.'

23. In a paper feed mechanism, the combination with a printing couple of paper feeding mechanism therefor including a paper feed drum, means for turning it periodically fractions of a rotation, endless tapes embracing' the drum, means for supporting a roll of paper, means for guidin the web thereof upwardly and then laterally over the tapes and drum and thence downwardly and backwardly between the tapes and drum, a transverse bar over the drum and beneath the web, and edge guides slidably mounted on the drum.

24. The means for printing by a continuously moving rotary couple having a platen and a member carrying a segmental form of materially less arcuate extent than the periphery of the member carrying it, comprising means for feeding a continuous'web of paper at the same speed as the peripheral speed of the couple for a period of time slightly greater than that in which the segment is passing the platen, whereby a section of the webis imprlnted and an excess thereover is fed, means acting whilethe couple is continuing to rotate in the same direction with the segment out of coaction with the platen for operating the paper feed in the reverse direction against a definite stop to draw back the web to compensate for the over-feed, and

. .means acting thereafter while the web is stationary and the couple rotating for shearing off the most advanced region of the web which was printed on a previous rotation of the couple.

25. The combination, with a multigraph, of rotary paper feeding mechanism associated therewith, means for guiding a-continuous web of paper thereto, the web passing therespeed as that of the form for a period of time greater than that in which the segment is passing its platen, whereby a section of the web is imprinted and an excess is fed, and means acting while the couple is continuing to rotate inthe same direction with the segment out of coaction with the platen reversing the'movement of the feeding means.

27. The means for printing by a rotary couple comprising rotary means for feeding paper at the same speed as the peripheral speed of the couple for a period of time slightly greater than that in which the form is impressing the paper, whereby a section of the web is imprinted .and an excess is fed, and means acting while the couple is continuing to rotate in the same direction reversing the movement of the feeding means and then stopping it.

28. The means for printing'by a rotary couple comprising rotary means for feeding paper at the same speed as the peripheral speed of the couple for a distance slightly greater than the arcuate extent of the form,

and beginning before the impressing action of the form, whereby an excess of paper is fed, and means acting while the couple is continuing to rotate in the same direction reversing the movement of the feeding means.

29. The means for printing by a rotarycouple comprising means for feeding paper at the same speed as the peripheral speed of the couple for a distance slightly greater than the-arcuate extent of the form, and continuing after the impressing action has taken place, whereby an excess of paper is fed, and means acting while the couple is continuing to rotate in the same direction for retracting the printed paper, and for stopping the movement of such retracting means without engaging the paper.

30. The combination with a rotary couple of means for feeding the paper at the. same peripheral speed as the couple for a distance slightly greater than the arcuate extent of the printing form and continuing such feed by the same means after the impressing action has taken place and means acting while the couple is continuing to rotate in the same direction, for retracting the paper fed without engaging it by other means than the feeding means.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature.

LAWRENCE H. MORSE. 

